"The land of romantics dreams, unbelievable wealth
and awful destitution, luxury and poverty, palaces and huts, hunger and
plague, spirits and giants, Aladdin's lamps, tigers and elephants,
cobras and jungles; the country of hundreds of peoples and languages,
thousands of religions and two millions of gods.."

Mark Twain.

At the time of the Moghuls, Agra was the capital of India and
much of its superb architecture, which includes the Taj Mahal and the
enormous Agra Fort, dates from this era. Apart from its smattering of
imposing Moghul monuments, Agra is like many other northern Indian
cities, with a large cantonment, bustling bazaars, predatory rickshaw
riders and persistent guides in temper-fraying profusion.

Fort
Agra

Canon
500N

EF
75-300 II

The Kullu valley is one
of the most wonderful places in India. The Gimalai valley is
surrounded by the mountains of about 6000 height, the strikingly
beautiful wild nature with the minimum of civilization. Here and
there on the mountains slopes are picturesque villages, the
habitants of which are peasants that have kept their unique
culture traditions and customs for hundreds of years.